Tennis is a game enjoyed by millions for exercise, sport and recreation. Many people choose to improve their game and will obtain the services of a tennis professional. Practice sessions with a professional, played on the court, typically involve the professional directing a ball toward the student for the student to hit. Hundreds of balls can be thrown in such a manner during the course of a session. As a result, professionals have found it necessary to have a large bin of tennis balls at their disposal for such session instead of one ball that is chased around after every swing.
Numerous products have been developed to aid the tennis professional in this regard. For instance, devices to pick up and hold tennis balls are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,926,328; 6,494,340; 6,398,040; and 6,354,643 are a few examples. A drawback to all these devices is that they do not allow easy access to balls in the bottom of the bin. As the balls are depleted, the professional must reach deeper and deeper into the bin. A shallower bin is not an option as the bin should hold a sufficient amount of balls for a session.
What is needed is a tennis ball holder that alters its configuration such that the professional does not need to reach deeper and deeper as the balls are depleted. That is the tennis ball holder should be adjustable to lower an upper edge to an elevation commensurate with that of the bottom of the bin when the balls are nearly gone. The ball holder should have a mechanism that retains the balls in the altered configuration such that balls that are in the bin do not inadvertently fall out.